Will Election Day 2025 be remembered as the rise of the socialists?

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Mamdani explains his ‘radical’ upbringing and fondness for socialism in unearthed clips

The resurfaced clips were made during an interview with The Far Left Show in 2020.

Looking out over a sea of supporters, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani told a boisterous crowd that his campaign is a "movement of the masses."

With a week and a half until Election Day, some 10,000 supporters gathered to hear Mamdani and his two most high-profile supporters, progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from the New York City borough of Queens, shocked the political world in June with his convincing win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party's mayoral nomination.

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Mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during an election rally on Oct. 26, 2025, at Forest Hills Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. (Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)

Fast-forward four months, and Mamdani's on the cusp of making history as the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation's most populous city, which would give the Democratic Socialists of America their biggest electoral boost ever.

A Mamdani general-election victory in New York City would also be seen as another sign of the rise of the socialist-aligned wing of the Democratic Party.

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And a Gallup poll conducted in August indicated two-thirds of Democrats viewed socialism positively, while only 42% of Democrats saw capitalism in the same favorable light.

But Cuomo, fighting for a political resurrection after resigning as governor four years ago amid multiple scandals, argues that he's the real Democrat in New York City's mayoral race, and charges that Mamdani's democratic socialist agenda would trigger an exodus of people and business.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an Independent, speaks during a mayoral debate, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York City. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, Pool)

"The socialists want to take over the Democratic Party. That’s what Bernie Sanders is all about. That’s what AOC is all about," Cuomo recently claimed.

Some Republicans view a Mamdani victory as a political gift that will keep on giving.

NEW YORK CITY VOTERS EMBRACE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM

Since his primary victory in late June, Republicans have aimed to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party. And if he's elected mayor, they'll increasingly work to link Mamdani to vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in next year's midterms.

"We saw our clearest sign yet that this radical insurgent movement in the Democrat Party is succeeding, and they are ending what has always been known as the Democrat Party in America," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week, after Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, endorsed Mamdani.

Republicans aim to make Zohran Mamdani the new face of the Democratic Party, along with progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

But moderate Democrats push back at the GOP's messaging.

"I love New York, but it's a very liberal place, and I don't know that you can necessarily apply that to the rest of the country," Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said after Mamdani's stunning primary victory.

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Other Democrats point to the party's nominees for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, moderates Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Meanwhile, a new center-left group named "Welcome," in their inaugural report, argued that left-leaning ideas and rhetoric have badly weakened the Democratic Party. And the group is urging Democrats to jettison some of the party's progressive language about race and LGBTQ issues.